STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

travelgirl · Kate Spade

Do you shop alone?

laken1 · Hermes

Oh, I have tons of thoughts on this. My mom, sister & I have shopped together as an outlet for spending time together for my whole entire life. I can indeed shop with them but not like I like to - over the years my style has gone to a completely different place than both of theirs & neither is approving of it, so I don't purchase when I'm with them anymore. Any time I do I find that I get stuff home & realize it's not me at all, it's very them - twin sets & such....

I never shopped alone until I moved to Dallas. It started because I didn't know anyone here, now it's totally by choice. I'll go browsing with other people, but I really don't like to be influenced into buying stuff that doesn't feel "me". I guess that's good & bad - I tend to buy the same stuff over & over instead of reaching. But to be honest, of the people i've met here (with the single exception of the other STer I met), I prefer my style to theirs. One chick I went with is too....matronly & she is intimidated by Nordstroms - she prefers Coldwater Creek

. The other girl I tried to go with spends entirely too much money for me to be comfortable & is very conservative in her dress. I found her to be very "one upper" so it was just...well, uncomfortable.

My BFF comes in sometimes & am cool shopping with her even though she also spends way more than me. I have a cousin that comes to Dallas to shop too & we do well together although she is a bad influence on me because we both have ridiculous shoe addictions & we feed each other.

So all that to say - I'd prefer to shop alone. My other issue with this is that I am famous for trying on 25 things & buying maybe one? I feel bad when I do that with other people because I feel like I take up tons of time for basically nothing.....

Sorry, that's probably way more than anyone wanted to know. Good question though - I'm anxious to see what other people say.

-- Edited by laken1 at 09:28, 2006-06-29

Metric · Gucci

I have alot of thoughts on this too. My mom and I are "power shoppers", we know what we want and go, go, go. Even if we are just browsing, we are very efficient. So we shop well togeather and I really enjoy shopping with my mom. I also enjoy shopping by myself, like in Clueless when Cher says "I need to find sanctuary in a place where I could gather my thoughts and regain my strength... ". yeah, thats me.

So took my bff shopping after she begged me for a makeover. So we shopped and I thought we did really well, she needed a new work wardrobe so we bought her a bunch of pretty tops, a blazer, a beautiful pair of shoes and some (costume) jewelry. I picked out a few things she could mix and match and showed her why certain things worked or didn't work for her. At the time, she loved everything...but a few weeks later she told me that she didn't like her new clothes, they were too fancy, her new shoes the leather was too soft and she scuffed the sh*t out of them and nothing worked for her. So I was really disapointed because I didn't think they were too fancy or anything like that. But then- she calls and asks when are we going shopping again? WTF? We haven't gone since and without my help...well...its back to Mom jeans and thrift store finds.

(I don't have anything against thrift stores. But as I'm sure we all know, there are good ones and bad. She doesn't check out the funky vintage finds- she just thinks clothes shouldn't cost more than $5 and buys jeans, t's, etc. And I grew up really poor and had to shop at thrift stores. Now I just can't.)

So other than that I love to shop with my cousin who is 23 and super cool. But she loves to spend big $$$ and I don't feel like I can keep up. I can't drop $ on 3 pairs of designer jeans and a Burberry bag in one day. But she's tons of fun.

My bf and I don't shop well togeather, unless its to TJ Maxx. He hates malls and crowds but he does have good taste and will give me honest opinions on stuff. Sometimes I wish he would come more but then he might figure out how much money I spend...so forget that!

-- Edited by Metric at 11:22, 2006-06-29

TheLovelyLady71 · Hermes

I myself prefer to shop alone; I've gone w/co-workers, friends, and they always want you to 'look at this or that', while I'm trying to do my own thing. LOL And shopping w/my Mom is OK, when she's not all up under me, I usually ask her to go to another section, b/c we're not the same size, or whatever, but she's still pretty cool to shop with, but I prefer to go alone. And FORGET shopping w/Mr. Impatient Joe!!

Kelly · Hermes

I generally shop alone. I have a cousin who is like my shopping counterpart, she goes as quickly as I do past all the crap, but she'll take as long as I do deciding on something, and we end up spending about the same amount each time. We have different styles, but we can both recognize the others and help each other find things, etc. But now we live a couple hours away and don't get to shop together anymore. I have one other friend who I've only been shopping with a few times. I love his style and value his opinion. But I remember very clearly one day (I think the last time we shoppe together, actually) I spent $50, and I didn't really like it because I had planned just to tag along and window shop. But I really liked the things I got, so I decided to let myself off the hook. But he spent $800 in that one day! And this is on top of $1200 that I knew he had spent earlier that week. (NO, he couldn't afford it any more than I could. but he had this new boyfriend, you know, who had friends who bought high-end stuff and he just HAD to impress them). So I was pretty uncomfortable with that, and with making him go in the more reasonable stores when all he really wanted to do was make a beeline for the priciest stuff he could find.

That was a long story! Basically, there are only two people I really enjoy shopping with. I'll go out with my friends when they want to shop, but I rarely buy anything by myself. I take too long and try on too many things, and I always feel bad that they're just waiting for me for ten thousand years, only so that I can reject each piece I'd brought into the dressing room. Plus, I know what I would like and might only spend 30 seconds in a store scanning, then deciding I don't like anything and moving on. I can't spend a really long time anywhere (except the dressing room, haha), and I have having to wait for people. So, since it didn't really work out with the only people I enjoy it with, I just always go alone. It's kind of my alone time, too. It's what I do when I need a breather.

ETA: I won't ever shop with a boyfriend, either. First of all, I just wouldn't like one tagging along and just following me in all the stores, then just sitting outside while I try things on. I don't really see any need for a boyfriend to be there, and it makes me self-conscious. I've had a boyfriend who pretty much begged to go shopping with me (go figure?) but I didn't want to shop with him at all. Plus, if I buy something really pretty, I want to just wear it one day and blow him away, instead of the first time he sees me being in a dressing room, with me probably just barefoot and with my tshirt on and then this really beautiful skirt or whatever. I want it to look like my beauty is completely effortless

-- Edited by ttara123 at 10:53, 2006-06-29

Kitty · Hermes

I will shop with others, but I do it more as a social thing and I don't really look for things to buy, etc. It's a totally different experience than when I shop by myself.

I absolutely LOVE to shop alone. I love to just wander around, take my time, try on things forever, etc. I think successful shopping takes a lot of thought (I know, that sounds lame!) but seriously, I always have to think about anything I"m going to buy and how it will fit in my closet, and what I could do with it, and what shoes I have that could go with it..etc. I feel like when I shop with others I can't think about these things I need to think about.

Also, I use shopping as an escape. Its like my thing and i like just taking the day to go to the City and shop, walk around ,grab lunch, etc.

member · Hermes

I don't mind shopping alone, but I prefer to shop either w/my boyfriend or my future mother in law and my future sister in law. My boyfriend is great - he picks things out for me that he likes, is by me in the dressing room and gives his opinion and is super patient - we have a blast shopping together.

I love to shop w/my FMIL & FSIL - my FMIL is in the fashion business so I like to have her help and the 3 of us get along great and have the same taste.

If i know what i want and just want to get in and out, then I go alone.

Kitty · Hermes

My boyfriend is SO impatient when it comes to shopping. He literally lasts like 10 minutes.

Also, he doens't know what to do with himself so he just stands right next to me and watches me as I sift through the racks. It's annoying.

Cortney1982 · Chanel

I don't like to shop by myself, it's lonley but not like I have a choice. I try shopping with my sister, but sometimes she doesn't like the same things I do and is always nagging to be done.

My BF is always too busy. When we do go for me, he has a short patience and I feel pressured to say we are done after the first store. Oh, but when we go to his favorite places (Lowe's, any store that has lawn and garden, power tools, outdoor gear, and yes he loves the dollar store) we will be their FOREVER and it doesn't matter if I'm so tired I'm dragging my feet.

Claudia · Gucci

I don't like shopping alone. It takes me way too long. I rather go with my mom. My mom and I can shop for hours and hours. I also like to shop with my bf. He is suuper patient and he always buys stuff for himself. I like to get second opinions on what I buy.

-- Edited by Claudia at 18:41, 2006-06-29

kahluamilk · Dooney & Bourke

I shop alone.. I don't like having people around when I shop, I enjoy the quiet time browsing and trying stuff on.

honey · Gucci

if i'm going hardcore shopping i prefer to do it alone. that way i can take my time.

i enjoy shopping with my mom, esp. b/c she has a car which makes it so much easier to get to the nice mall (with no sales tax), but as i said in another post. she's the worst enabler ever. i always like the stuff i end up getting, but at the same time, i know if i'm debating something she'll totally encourage me to get it, even if i don't need it.

kealoha · Kate Spade

I prefer to shop alone. Even though he's incredibly patient, I find it challenging to shop w/my FH. There are a select few who I can actually shop with & not irrate or be irritated with, but for the most part, I prefer taking my time & going solo.

zeitgeist4 · Gucci

I shop with my mom a lot. That's mainly recreational/window shopping though. She can't walk around as long as I can.

When I am on a mission, when I really need to SHOP, I go by myself. I can quickly scan a rack of clothing and know if there's anything on it I would like. I can go as fast or slow as I want. I can try 50 things on. I can spend 3 hours in one store, or go into 15 stores in 3 hours.

One time I went to SF just to shop by myself and while I was there my bff called and said she and her husband were in the city and wanted to hang out with me. I lied to her and said I was with my cousin shopping, so I wouldn't have to shop with them!

They were shopping in the same area as me, so it's a good thing I didn't run into them, without my cousin!

bex · Chanel

Great question!

i shop alone a lot just because i'm alone a lot due to traveling for work. the first year at my job i spent a LOT of money b/c i was "bored" after working and went to the mall all the time. this year, i've found more "constructive" ways to spend my time so i'm not at the malls as much. its taken a lot of willpower on my part to stay away...

the people i like to shop with are my BFF. she and i have similiar styles and sizes! unfortunately, she lives in Cali now and we don't get to shop together much anymore. its funny though b/c even though she and i don't see each other very often, she and i buy the same items (like the JSimpson Barb shoes) and then laugh when we realize what we've done!

the other person i like to shop with is my BF. he LOVES fashion and we do really well in unisex stores (nordstroms, banana republic, jcrew, etc.). he does okay when in a women only store- but i usually go in with him and he helps me pick things out- then i go to try them on while he goes to an electronic store or skips ahead to a unisex store.

my mom is fun to shop with too. when i was younger, i loved shopping with her but it was more about buying clothes for me. now that i'm older, its more about getting mom nice things b/c she went without for us kids all those years and i spoiling her!

Sibeski · Dooney & Bourke

I like to shop alone. My girlfriends that I do go shopping with, on occasion, make me crazy! They pick up things and say, " Oh, this looks like you - try it on." In my head I'm thinking....are you crazy!? That is awful and NOT me!

I don't shop w/ hubby. He doesn't like shopping. Well, unless we are going grocery shopping or to Target. For some weird reason he has a love with Target.

That being said, I think I may start shopping with my 6 yr. old nephew. Not Kidding! I was b-sitting last weeked. He said he doesn't like shopping because it's not fun. I wanted to hit up the BR sale. We stopped at Pottery Barn so he could pick out some little things. He picked out a silver plated starfish and a turquoise decorative ball to go by his fish tank. Let me tell you they were awesome!

So to make it fun for him I let him pick out some things for me at BR. Um, he was on the spot and I wasn't!! Also- there is no one more honest than a kid. I decided to purchase a dress he picked out and wondered aloud if I needed jewelry. He walked over to the case and picked out a necklace and earrings! I told him I wasn't going to buy it now, maybe later. He said," Well, when you come back it won't be here." Simple as that. I love kids.

Shello · Kenneth Cole

I really prefer shopping alone so I can take my time - or with two of my good friends who have extremely good taste in things, but they also spend wayy more than I should, so I have to reserve those occasions.

My mother and sister do not understand my shopping habits at all - mostly, they wear the most "comfortable" and casual things they can get away with. I hate seeing them sometimes b/c they'll always say "why are you so dressed up?" even if I'm wearing jeans and a t-shirt. The simple fact that I care about my appearance and would rather not wear high-rise tapered jeans or sweatpants with baggy shirts confuses them, so I really try never to go shopping with them.

Kelly · Hermes

Sibeski wrote:

That being said, I think I may start shopping with my 6 yr. old nephew. Not Kidding!

awwww that story is adorable!

Seashells · Dooney & Bourke

I generally like to shop alone. It really bothers me when a friend either dilly dally's around the store or doesn't let me shop. That being said, I do have key shopping partners

- My best friend- we have similar styles so shopping for us really works

- Joceybaby23 (miss you hon) - She is my still one of my fav shopping partners

- My mom- she makes me feel guilty about purchases- so I don't buy as much.